how to: drive a stick shift! Options

[Heathasm]

If you're interested in learning to drive a manual transmission car, find someone that you know(with a car) who can be there to moderate your use of it.

A manual transmission car has three pedals, gas, brake, and a clutch. It also has a stick shift(duh) and a parking brake. The gas and the brake pedals work the same as they would in an automatic, so all you will have to learn about here is the clutch, using the parking brake, and using the stick shift.

The Clutch-the clutch controls the distance between two discs. One is connected to the engine and has a big flat surface, and the other is connected to the transmission. When you press the clutch in(down), it pulls the discs apart from each other, and they touch each other when the pedal is released (up). Basically, when you press the clutch you separate the engine from the transmission. It is not an on-off switch, so you can control how quickly the two discs come together-letting one slip against the other for a bit as you let the clutch pedal up is what gets the car going.

The Parking Brake-The parking brake isn't difficult to understand. Just, if you don't want your car to roll away while you are parked...there is a pedal to the farrrr left (left of the clutch) that you press down on. Once your parking brake is on, you can lock the car and take off with no worries. ALWAYS take the parking brake off before you start driving (the realease brake is often located to the left of your stearing wheel under the dash, and will say "PARKING BRAKE" or some thing in big letters), usually all you have to do is pull on it, and the pedal will be released. IF there isnt a pedal, some manuals have hand breaks :D which are neat and not hard to find at all.

Getting Started: Place your left foot all the way down on the clutch (you always use your left foot when using the clutch), then place your right foot down on the brake. Now, with your left foot on the clutch, and your right foot on the brakes, turn the car on lol.

Once the car is turned on, and your feet are in the same place, check out the gearshift. The gears are generally laid out like an "H" plus half an "H". Here is a little diagram.
.
The pattern may not be the same on your car, because some have different reverse options(like my own) that are easier to manage. There should be a diagram on top of your shifter's knob to tell you where all of the gears are at. (dont forget to relase your parking brake!) You should be set in first gear, if not, with your foot still on the clutch (you cant shift gears without your foot all the way down on the clutch) switch to the first gear. (as a side not you always leave your car in neutral when you're shutting down, you can tell your set in neutral when you can wiggle the stick shift horizontally freely with no resistance. There is no parking gear at all, which is why you have a parking brake ).

With all of the above you should have your feet on the clutch and the brake while in first gear with the car started. Now, with your right foot still on the brake pedal, let the clutch out slowly. You will hear the engine slow a bit and the car try to move as you let it out. You have found the point at which the clutch "catches."
With the clutch to the floor, right foot on the gas, give the engine just a little extra gas - not much. Now slowly let the clutch come up. As you feel that catch point, the RPMs(rate of revolution of a motor) will start to drop and the car will start to move forward a bit. Slowly give it more gas to keep the RPM's constant as you let the clutch out. This is the key to the whole thing. Give it enough gas to keep the RPM's constant until the pedal is all the way out(just because you are moving doesnt mean you can take your foot off the clutch before its all the way up). Now push in the clutch and brake to a stop(you can brake in any gear like this, just be sure that when you start back up that you have switched back to first). Repeat three or four times until that "catch" point starts to feel comfortable(its very important that you do this to get comfortable with). Never rev the engine while letting out the clutch-If you rev the engine while letting out the clutch, you wear off the surfaces of both disks. Likewise, it you don't give it enough gas to keep the RPM's up, it will stall. Practice until it takes no more than 1.5 to 2 seconds to smoothly take the car from dead stop to clutch all the way out. The faster you can smoothly get the car going, the less wear on the clutch.

First gear is really only to get you going.(and when i first started i had soooooo much trouble with this). In fact, it is very easy to start the car in second gear - although don't try this until you get a good handle on the whole process as it is tougher on the disk plates. IMO this is the hardest part to learn about driving a manual...moving from a direct spot, especially if on a hill-because you could very well roll back and hit the car behind you from delays on getting started.

heres a reference for when you need to be switching gears
First from 0 to 15 MPH tops
Second 3 to 25 MPH
Third 15 to 45 MPH
Fourth 30 to 65 MPH
Fifth 45 to ??? MPH

OK, once you've mastered starting in the car, its time to practice shifting gears. Once you get going and hit the 10MPH mark, quickly-release the gas, push the clutch all the way down, shift to second gear, and hit the gas as you are releasing the clutch.
Practice 1st to 2nd quite a bit. As you get better at judging the way the engine applies power, you can get to smooth shifts while letting the clutch pedal out quite quickly, which is one of the main goals!

OK, now-Imagine you are at at traffic light, waiting for the light to change to green. What gear should you be in? Where should your feet be? If you expect it to be a short light, you should have your right foot on the brake, your left foot should be holding the clutch to the floor, and you should be in first gear. When the light changes to green, you can just let your foot off the brake and start like normal.

But, if the light looks like it will be a while, or for any other reason you don't think you will be moving, you should shift into neutral(you can tell you are in neutral when the gear shifter moves left to right easily, which is basically the horizontal bar on the "H"), and while still holding the brake pedal down with your right foot, let the clutch out. As long as the gear shift is in neutral, the car won't move or stall, or otherwise embarrass you. You should do this because having the clutch pushed in really stresses some of the moving parts. In fact, often times you can hear a whining sound when you have the clutch pushed in that goes away when you let it out. Normally a small sound is not a problem, but a very noticeable whine is a sign that the "throwout bearing" may be going bad. Pay a mechanic to fix it, because you don't want it to fail - the clutch can get quite flaky in its operation as the throwout bearing deteriates.

Now repeat the process from first, to second, to third gear. If you can master this, fourth and fifth are just the same. Drive around in third gear for a bit around an empty neighborhood or stranded longg road, because parking lots dont usually allow such high speeds.


XD geez that took forever.
I had to learn how to drive a manual transmission just recently for my new car...royal pain in the butt! But, manuals are very fun to drive, most of the time. if you're a car fanatic this is probably the car for you if you don't already have one XD.

If any one sees stuff missing please inform me. I might of skipped over some very important points.

[lKVNiiKINKYl]

I printed this out and took it with me when I went driving today =)
I did almost crash quite a few times, but good guide nonetheless

[Heathasm]

whoa cool :] im glad i helped someone out

[*kryogenix*]

About when to switch gears:

Isn't this determined by RPM rather than speed? So shouldn't you look at your tach rather than speedometer?

I don't know how to drive a stick shift (hell, I don't even have my license yet), but from my experience in videogames (which may or may not be useful in real life driving), you should shift a little before you red line, which if I remember correctly,is 5000-6000 rpm.

Again, you probably know more about this than I do, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Heathasm]

you can judge by either one.
most people judge by RPMs(its easier that way), my mom just taught me by milage
//edit
the other reason im learning by miles is there is no RPM meter in my car

[sadolakced acid]

i've never heard of stick without a tachometer.

i want to learn to drive a stick.

also, you forgot to mention that some parking brakes are hand brakes.

waaa i want a stick.

[*mipadi*]

The pattern may not be the same on your car, because some have different reverse options(like my own) that are easier to manage. There should be a diagram on top of your shifter's knob to tell you where all of the gears are at. (dont forget to relase your parking brake!) You should be set in first gear, if not, with your foot still on the clutch (you cant shift gears without your foot all the way down on the clutch) switch to the first gear. (as a side not you always leave your car in first gear when you're shutting down. There is no parking gear at all, which is why you have a parking brake while first gears has the most resistance to hold your car still).

I may have read this wrong, but for clarification: a manual transmission car should be parked in neutral, not left in first gear, and it should be started with the car in neutral, not first gear.

[Heathasm]

I may have read this wrong, but for clarification: a manual transmission car should be parked in neutral, not left in first gear, and it should be started with the car in neutral, not first gear.

you're right.
i was going by what a friend told me, hes been driving a manual for a longgg time now and developed his own sort of way of doing things. *Changing it*

i've never heard of stick without a tachometer.

my car is very plane jane....it has NOTHING...no AC no cd player no arm rests etc ~_~ i still love it though lol

[sadolakced acid]

well, i could deal with that if it was a ferrari (well, for a while at least), but my last car only drove (and not above 45), and stopped.

not much else it could do... lights.. parents got the wipers fixed AFTER it rained... and... err... the doors opened and closed.

[cfaye3char]

I used to drive a stick, I had a hard time at first, but then you can also listen too the sound of the motor. It will reach a certain noise level and then you shift into next gear....I would always start off in first. and enjoyed coasting in neutral. I miss driving a stick sometimes

[Heathasm]

well, i could deal with that if it was a ferrari (well, for a while at least), but my last car only drove (and not above 45), and stopped.

not much else it could do...  lights..  parents got the wipers fixed AFTER it rained...  and...  err...  the doors opened and closed.

hahaha..i plan to make my car me-friends, though. it has a massive trunk, so im going to get a cd player and get someone to install 10-12” woofers. That’s really all I need-exceptI’m gonna try saving up for some nice rims, too.

I used to drive a stick, I had a hard time at first, but then you can also listen too the sound of the motor. It will reach a certain noise level and then you shift into next gear....I would always start off in first. and enjoyed coasting in neutral. I miss driving a stick sometimes

yeah I can feel/hear when I need to switch gears. Hehe, im already addicted to driving the stick XD

[cfaye3char]

reverse was hard for me also. I had to push down on the stick then pull back on it and it had to fit in the gear. I had to balance the clutch and the gas, like you push in the clutch and gas at the same time just a little bit. Parking was hard switching from forward to reverse all the time trying to park. I almost had to take my car in to the shop for stripping gears too much.

[klumzy]

interesting.. now i wanna learn how to drive stick one day!

[evanbunnell]

About when to switch gears:

Isn't this determined by RPM rather than speed? So shouldn't you look at your tach rather than speedometer?

I don't know how to drive a stick shift (hell, I don't even have my license yet), but from my experience in videogames (which may or may not be useful in real life driving), you should shift a little before you red line, which if I remember correctly,is 5000-6000 rpm.

Again, you probably know more about this than I do, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

5000-6000 is a bit much. More-so around the 4000 area. EDIT: 5000-6000 won't hurt the car, but you'll be burning gas like a beast.

Mmm... I'm getting my corvette back this weekend. 6-Speed Manual. '92, teal, black interior. Hawt car. Bad sound system, but I'll work on that. ^_^

[sadolakced acid]

my auto shifts at 3000, so i'm sure you could do the same

[DrEaMgUy2K1]

lol, you should shift your car ALOT earlier b4 you read line lol.

you should switch gears when ur gear hits 3-4 rpms (i switch at 4 cuz i hate switchin rite when i get into gear) but remember the higher you rev the more gas you use.

And when you park its alright to leave it in neatral but me and alot of people i know leave it in first gear. Why? Because leaving your car in first gear is like leaving an automatic in park. First gear = Park (your car wont move/roll) but in any case always have your e brake up. Oh and people, never turn your car off while your still in gear, itll stall and jolt forward a tiny bit,but if ur parked really close to something, u dont want that to happen :P

If no one has mentioned this i will :O When switching gears, its very tempting to go from 2 to 4 to 6th gear or w/e the point is its tempting to skip gears. Even though its convenient, you shouldnt cuz it fucks up your gears in the long run.

when turning you should probally slip it into neutral doing the turn and slipping it into a lower gear (down shift) so when u accelerate out you catch up speed quick.

BEING UP HILL!!! Okay when i first started driving stick this scared the shit out of me, i was always worry that i might roll back on a car so ill try to help you guys out. Theres like 2 ways you can take off while being up hill after having to stop that is known to like everyone. but ill teach you 2 more. and im sure u stick drivers kno, its about the people who dont T_T

1. Holding break and quickly letting go of it and goign to gass (this will make your car roll back quite a bit if ur not quick enough)

2. Having E-Brake up a little when taking off (This is for people who are afraid of rolling back and with this you barely ever will, but driving w/ebrake on isnt healthy for your car even if its up for like 3 seconds)

and heres the other 2 you might not know about

3. Theres this rolling back and fouth technique where you never stop. Your just rolling back and fourth in first gear. gas a little...neautral a little.... Its convient for taking off but you would need some space between cars and if a cop sees you he'd give you a ticket.

4. This is what i do, Its staying in the same position without using any kind of break so you dont roll back and you take off smooth as a babies bottom :O.
To do this, you have to level your clutch and gas. you should have your clutch maybe ...a quarter or half way out and your gas maybe a quarter or halfway in. It's pretty hard to get it perfect but its really convenient. your rpm meter should probally stay at 1.5 or 2 rpms the most so you dont waste much gas.

For me i practiced uphilling on this little slope in my schools parking lot on the weekends, i practiced for like 2 days until my legs cramped up. you should practice uphilling as much as u practiced getting your car to move, in alot of cases, that means ALOT.

haha this is sort of a joke but IF you plan on getting stick because you want to drift. #1 drifting is harder than it looks #2 make sure you dont get a forward wheel drive car :P

[pnaypassi0n]

i juss get scared going up hill!.. i hate rolling backk.. i get hella scared that i might hit the car behind mee.. so yah more practice for mee sigh! =P! im getting used to it thoo :]!

[Heathasm]

yeah i just pump that gas real hard when im on an incline...its still scary if its really steap and there are cars behind me!! eepp

[EddieV]

Good, I'm getting a stick RX-7.

[klumzy]

well im learning how to drive a stick atm and all i can say is.. the saying practice makes better sure applies in this case..

and yeah, rolling backwards is the scariest part -_- and stalling is embarassing >.<